During the War of 1812, there was a great deal of interactions between the captains at Amanda, Jennings and Defiance, both in terms of sharing information and supplies. Captain McHenry, like Hosbrook and Seton was a key player in the movement of men and supplies to the north during the war, and like the hundreds of men who served at their forts, their names remained unknown (until recently). The purpose of this blog is not only to share information about their forts, but about the men and women who served them. What follows is what I've learned about Captain Van McHenry (so far).
Captain
Van McHenry’s Company at Fort Jennings
March
– August (1813)
Van McHenry Captain
William Thomas Lieutenant
Jonothan Markland Ensign
Thomas D. Wheelan 1st Sergeant
Justice Gibbs
Sgt. Conrad
Plow Sgt. Gad Waggoner Sgt.
James Armstrong CorP Charles
Stephens Corp. Richard Campbell Corp.
Samuel Dodson Corp.
PRIVATES PRIVATES PRIVATES
Arnold, William Bavis,
James Burnett,
Daniel
Boyer, Sweden Chaisman,
Henry Cox,
Benjamin B.
Campbell, William F. Davis,
Thomas Freedly,
John
Ford, William Fenton,
Jacob Frazer,
Samuel
Frasier, David Frost,
John Herrin,
Beverly
Harcourt, Enoch Howard, Phillip Hartman, Joseph
Ingersol, Joseph Ireland,
Moses Jacobs,
John
Longfellow, Thomas Lancaster,
John F. Marshall,
James
Miller, Frederick Mitchel,
William Millholland, William
DuMont, Peter Marshall,
William Merril,
Adam
Mizner, Jacob Norris,
Caleb Nugin,
Thomas
Olendorf, Frederick Plow,
Phillip Posy,
Armsted
Richardson, Jacob Risner,
John Stout,
Andrew S.
Sargent, John Stout,
Thomas T. Smith,
William
Shupe, Daniel Stewart,
Charles Sherwin, William
Scogin, Eli Tollar, Asa Tebow, Uriah
Torrence, John C. Taylor, Cornelius Taylor, Henry
Veach, John Willey, George Wilkinson, Joel
Wallis, Aaron Walden, James
The ensign in Hosbrook’s company, William Schillinger, kept a journal during his 6 months service at Fort Amanda. What follows are partial excerpts for his daily journal entries in which he mentions McHenry.
Monday March the 1, 1813 Weather cool & cloudy. some Snow this evening
By mid-morning, most of the Kentuckians had left the fort and were on their way home. A few remained behind waiting for friends and relatives returning from the northern forts. Schillinger spent his day issuing orders, assigning work parties and getting ready for the arrival of the rest of his company. Around 4 o’clock that afternoon, Major Daniel Kain along with Capt.’s Hosbrook, Van McHenry, Thomas Seton and their companies numbering approximately 200 men arrived at the fort where Schillinger turned over command to Major Kain. With less than two hours of daylight left, work parties were sent into the nearby woods and gather up firewood for the campsite. A light snow that had begun to fall earlier in the afternoon had become much heavier and it continued throughout the night.
Tuesday the 2nd weather clear & cool
Around 11 o’clock that morning, Capt. McHenry and his company started for Ft. Jennings seventeen miles to the north. Capt. Seton’s company left a short time later, headed for Ft. Winchester, fifty two miles to the north. Later that afternoon a group of Kentucky soldiers from Capt. Belts Company at Ft. Winchester and some from Ft. Jennings arrived at Amanda on their way home and joined their comrades inside the fort.
They, along with the few remaining men from of Capt. Wards Company must have decided a celebration was in order and judging from Schillinger comments in his journal the following day, it must have been quite the affair.
Thursday the 11 Morning Rain evening Heavy rain with Thunder & Lightening.
While one group of men was at work on the new smokehouse, another was started work removing the oats and corn that had been stored in the south blockhouse. Like the other blockhouses, the chinking between the logs needed repaired and the port holes had yet to be cut.
Early in the afternoon two men from Ft. Findlay a man named Mr. Rock and a companion came to Amanda to borrow some axes and other tools. They loaded them into a boat and started downriver mid-afternoon. The warming temperatures had caused some of the ice on the Auglaize to break up and melt and as a result, the water was very high with a fast current.
Around 4 o’clock the men returned to the fort saying they thought it too dangerous to continue on. A short time later, a man from Ft. Jennings, came to Amanda to pick up some of Capt. McHenry’s and Capt. Seton’s personal belongings. He reported that the ice on the river had broken. The two men from Ft. Findlay, feeling it was still too dangerous to use the river decided to spend the night there and leave the next morning. As it turned out, they made a good decision. Later that afternoon a heavy rain with thunder and lightning came into the area and had they decided to start back their trip would have been a long cold wet one.
At 5 o’clock that evening, Ensign Markland of Capt. McHenry’s company at Ft. Jennings came to the fort by boat towing four empty canoes to pick up some provisions for the men at Jennings.
NOTE: During one of their conversations, Markland confided in Schillinger that rumors were being spread about the character of Capt. McHenry, Markland’s company commander. Schillinger doesn’t elaborate on the nature of those rumors but he apparently thought it was serious enough to write a letter to McHenry advising him of the situation.
Reference to rumors being spread about Captain McHenry
(top of page)
Sunday Morning the 16th May Clear & Cool
After breakfast, the men lined up to receive their one month’s pay. Schillinger received his pay plus $15 subsistence money. Col. Orr then paid the civilian workers who had come to Amanda to help build boats. They were being released from duty and returning to their homes. Orr, Jenkinson and McDonald left for St. Marys in the afternoon. Being a day of rest Schillinger spent his afternoon writing a letter to his wife.
During the night, two of men deserted at Ft. Jennings. Apparently they had planned to leave shortly after they had received their pay. As of this date, there had been desertions from Forts Logan, Jennings, Winchester and Amanda.
The standard practice for dealing with deserters was to post notices in local newspapers, sometimes offering rewards for information leading to their capture. McHenry had the following notice placed in Saturday edition of “The Western Spy” newspaper Vol. III No. 141 It read:
Capt. McHenry reports two deserters, Adam Merrill (a substitute in the place of Job Hayhurst, “a noted fiddler” and shoemaker) and John Stauton (from Dayton, a substitute for Uriah Teahowe.
Sunday the 25th July Very warm
Jonathan Markland, Ensign from McHenry’s Company at Ft. Jennings came to Amanda this day. Schillinger noted that Markland was sick but he doesn’t elaborate but more than likely it was the measles. Schillinger spent part of his day writing letters, one to his wife Alasanna and one to his father-in-law Nathaniel Armstrong.
Meanwhile the second attack at Ft. Meigs was underway. Stinging from the first failed attack, Tecumseh insisted that General Procter attack it again. His plan was to create a diversion to diversion to draw troops outside the fort where they could be cut off as they did to Dudley’s force in May. The Indians created a sham battle with all the noise of a fight giving the impression they had cut off a replacement detachment coming to Meigs. Despite pressure from some of the officers to go to their help, General Clay resisted the temptation to send troops out. That action saved the day.
Friday the 30th this morning clear
Three of the men in Hosbrook Company were still very sick. Two were placed on wagons and a third on a cart and transported to St. Marys At 4 o’clock that afternoon, Sgt. Wheelan of Capt. Van McHenry’s company at Ft. Jennings came to the fort and informed them that the Indians had wounded Kentucky militia Capt. Isaac Gray a short distance from Ft. Defiance. Gray had been shot in the arm and later lost the use of it.
McHenry’s last will and testament, dated October 20, 1836 reads:
Van McHenry (seal) signed, sealed and declared by the testator to be his last
The 63 year old McHenry stated in his will that he was “far advanced in years and in a weak and low state of health,” The exact date of his death is unknown, however it was probably later that year of 1837
The McHenry family cemetery was established on Oct. 9, 1807 on the east side of River Road, ½ mile northeast of the village of New Baltimore. Captain Van McHenry, his wives Catherine and Nancy rest peacefully side by side in the cemetery on River road.
GPS: N39°16'15.48”,W84°39'34.24”
Little remains of the cemetery other than a roadside pull off. A check of the cemetery on Oct. 28, 1 986 showed that only 2 tombstones remained intact; those of Van Buren McHenry (the Captains grandson) and someone (probably a daughter) named Rebecca Holland.
Son Joseph McHenry married Nancy Pottinger and both he and his wife rest forever in the Miamitown cemetery 6 miles to the northeast, plot: section 1; lot 45.
Like Captains Hosbrook at Amanda and Seton at Defiance, McHenry was a hero. The 3 men, relatively unknown to or forgotten by history created something that while no longer visible to the eye, remain in our minds to remind us of the sacrifices the 3 men made for our country and the history they created for us to enjoy.